Welcome to the sixth edition of Rate That Character Round Up!
Starting us off we have EpicMartin’s first contribution, the indie all-star Shovel Knight:
Verdict:
Shovel Knight has certainly dug himself to new heights. From becoming a successful Kickstarter campaign, to gaining traction in the indie scene with cameos in other franchises, it’s no wonder fans would be eager to see him join the fray. And to add a relationship with the main company involved in the creation of Smash Bros, all but sweetens the deal for many.
However, Shovel Knight being a western third-party along with his lackluster perception in Japan may hinder him quite a bit. From the language barriers between Sakurai and his developers to the infamous “What’s a Shovel Knight?” one-liner, it might be one of the toughest roadblocks for getting this lad in spades to finally… join the fray. — 35%
Then the next day, NantenJex took a look at Marth and decided it was time to tackle Fire Emblem’s Celica:
Verdict:
Unless we get some bizarre Ice Climber set-up with Alm and Celica together, Celica’s chances are very low. Although she has access to some magic which could be used for some unique special attacks, her standards would be almost identical to Marth’s or Roy’s or Lucina’s. So unless we see the Fire Emblem series getting some cuts I can’t see Celica being interesting enough for Sakurai. He turned down Chrom for that reason and while Celica is a little better, Robin does fill her role already. — 15%
Liquid12A tags back in to give a controversial view on Ubisoft’s Rayman:
Verdict:
Rayman’s chances aren’t as low as some other third party characters given that he’s been able to maintain relevance over the years. The main problem would be whether the character could get in on his own merits. If nothing else, it’s arguable that Rayman has the strongest chance out of every current Ubisoft IP to gain Smash entry (except maybe Rabbids), but it’s a cold comfort at best. That being said, he’s at least been in the world of Smash Bros. already, so perhaps our heroic thingamajig could be playable yet. — 25%
Coming back to diffuse the tension, NantenJex gives his thoughts on Elma’s chance to Smash:
Verdict:
In the end Xenoblade is only getting one newcomer and the choices are between Elma and Rex & Pyra. The series has grown enough over the last 4 years that a second Xenoblade character seems likely and it all comes down to Sakurai and timing. When Sakurai worked on the plan was Elma the easier choice due to Rex & Pyra still being in development or did Sakurai use foresight like he did with Greninja and leave Elma in the dust? I guess we’ll just need to find out. — 70%
The hunt is on as NantenJex gives his thoughts on Monster Hunter.
Verdict:
In the end, the Monster Hunter is the most likely playable character from Capcom that we could see in Smash for Switch. The series has everything Sakurai looks for in a character from moveset potential, legacy and impact to gaming as a whole and is recognizable. The biggest issue it faces is whether the avatar character is a better choice than the Felyne’s or a Monster Hunter Stories character but chances are Sakurai would go for the regular ol’ Monster Hunter. — 70%
Finishing off this week we are going back to the veterans as NantenJexgives his thoughts on Squirtle from Pokemon.
Verdict:
Ultimately, Squirtle’s chances really come down to whether or not Sakurai wants to bring back veterans or not. Some really popular choices like Ice Climbers and Wolf makes sense but Squirtle and Ivysaur don’t have as big, or as loud, a fanbase. They may be more suited to DLC where Sakurai might be more willing to bring back some missing veterans, just like he did for Smash For. — 45%
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awesome@ got two of the characters that i wanted to be rated! with Celica i was hoping that she would have a good chance since Echoes is the most current mainline Fire Emblem game but then i actually started to think about her moveset and yeah she would play like Robin though i would argue that she could borrow moves from Genny. i was surprised about how high Elma got on the rating list, i didn’t think XCX would be a popluar one though i’m glad she did. other Fire Emblem and Xenoblade characters that i would suggest would be Cadea or Minerva to represent the flying units or Lin and KOS-MOS. i think Monster hunter would really be an great fighter though would the move set be based around the Hunting Styles or a focus on powerful blows at the right time?
okay my character choices for next week!
Dixie Kong
Mona
Jimmy T.
Ashley
Impa
Hades
Viridi
Anna
Lyn
Tiki
Caeda
Minvera
Slippy
Lyanroc
Decidueye
The Ultra Beasts
Lin
Kos-MOS
Andy
Ray
Saki
Issac
Vivosaurs
Chibi Robo
Dillon
A Rythem Heaven character
Professor Layton
Jibanyan
Bomberman
Simon/Trevor Belmont
Alucard
Dr. Eggman
Megaman X
Megaman EXE
Zero
Ken
Phoenix Wright
Chris/Jill/Clair/Leon
Black Mage
Cecil
Bartz
Terra
Sora
Edea Lee
Dragon Warrior
Slime
Ryu Hayabusa
Zhou Yu
Cao Cao
Yukimura Sanada
Nobunga Oda
Sophie(from the Atelier games)
Jack Frost
Aigis, Teddie or Morgana
Devil Summoner
Glad to see that one of my suggestions Shovel Knight made it in the list, I had a feeling he would have a pretty low score but its good to see him nonetheless.
Here are the rest of my suggestions.
-Dixie Kong (Donkey Kong)
-Medusa (Kid Icarus)
-Parabô and Satebô (Satellaview mascots)
-Anyone from Rhythm Heaven
-Slime (Dragon Quest)
-Anyone from Megami Tensei (including sub-series)
Here are my comments for each characters…
Shovel Knight: While I slightly wanna see him in Smash, I must agree that he’s in a similar position with Shantae and Quote, that any indies characters may have a difficult chance to join Smash because of where they’re made from. If Sakurai do bring an indies character in Smash, then that possibility may be on Touhou Project’s Reimu, but I doubt the chances on it either due to lack of popularity in the west. I really don’t think his amiibo even count as anything for this case as long his amiibo doesn’t have a connectivity with Smash…or if we’re still gonna get more amiibos in the future. As its hard to admit, I think the indies may not have a chance to join Smash. If there’s any other way to make easy communication rather than meeting directly, then that’s the different story though…
Celica: I doubt her chances are there for Smash. Even Echoes is a recent FE title, it’s quite old now as Warriors is more focused today, thus being a spinoff. People would complain if they’d brought another sword fighter from FE to Smash, and would rather choose Mikaiah instead if focusing on magic only, but may be difficult hence her title game is old too. People would rather prefer somebody from the new Switch title, but may be impossible at this moment since we don’t know what the game’s gonna be like and who’ll show up there. Instead, I’d prefer Anna due to her being in every series.
Rayman: I’m no huge fan of this title, and I really don’t care what the fans (or worshippers) say about his rejection. Rayman may be heavily popular in the west, but isn’t even familiar in Japan as many Japanese viewers were confused when they saw his showcase trophy through the now deceased Miiverse. Ubisoft may have a good relationship with Nintendo, but that’s only in the west while not really familiar in Japan as western games doesn’t sell well, as Rayman Legends for Wii U sold 0.60m in the west, while Japan only had 0.03m. This can be said with the Rabbids, as their Mario + Rabbids sold 1.55m in the west, while Japan only had 0.18m. Rayman is in the similar position as Takamaru; if Takamaru couldn’t join due to his lack of popularity in the west, so does Rayman in Japan. And personally, that old fake leak even damaged his reputation either…
Elma: While I was thinking of her possibility might be high, I started to feel of the change that maybe she doesn’t have a chance. It’s due to how Sakurai view Xenoblade X as; part of the main series or a spinoff which Sakurai strongly ignores upon. But if the series are treated separated, like how people treat Mega Man series and X series differently, then maybe Elma have a chance being on the Xenoblade X series roster, while Shulk and Rex/Pyra be on the original roster. It all depends how Sakurai view the series as…
Monster Hunter: Monster Hunter series is in Capcom’s major titles alongside Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil. We already got a avatar character in Smash, which is Animal Crossing’s Villager, and MvC:I even given them a personality, so the hunter may have a possibility to join. If not, then maybe Felyne due to being the series mascot. But at the same time, I don’t know the limitations of characters per one third party company. If there’s a limitation, then maybe 4 characters are enough…IF there’s a limitation of course…
Squirtle: The first gen Pokemon is way too old at this moment while many are willing to focus on the seventh. I may be wrong saying this, but since we’ve already got a water-type Pokemon in Smash, which is Greninja, I don’t think we’ll be needing another one instead. If they’d want a new one, but focusing on the unused type for Smash, then Decidueye may be the best choice for grass/ghost-type rep, or Nihilego for both poison/rock-type and UB rep. I don’t even think the rumored Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee game would support its return either as long we don’t know if it’s true or not. So, alongside Ivysaur and the Pokemon Trainer, Squirtle’s returning chances may be futile at this moment.